[casual_games] Defining 'Casual Game'

[Wayne Imlach]

It boils down to investment – how much time does the player need to invest in the game before they can begin to enjoy it, and how much time must they spend in any individual session to extract a theoretical unit of pleasure?

Any game that requires minimal investment (pick-up-and-play) and has a low ‘minimum session length’ is a casual game, regardless of genre or underlying depth.

Complex games that might have traditionally been categorised as ‘hardcore’ can be casual as long as they stick to those two rules – if the learning curve is shallow (primarily via intuitive interface and layered, emergent game mechanics) and the minimum play session is less than 15 minutes (the smaller the better to be honest), then the game can be as deep and intricate as you like, yet still retain that ‘casual’ feel.

This realisation has broadened the potential market for all types of games – players who might be interested in game types that historically have existed outside of the casual definition (e.g. strategy games, complex logic puzzles, action games) but were not willing to invest the time required to ‘learn how to play’ now find this barrier to entry gone – controls are intuitive, play sessions are shorter, game mechanics are subtly and gradually introduced.

As more games are released with this in mind, the associations of certain genres being considered ‘hardcore’ will also break down, again broadening potential audience. A good example might be resource management games, once considered a fairly niche ‘strategy’ type market. However, over time the refinement of interface and careful introduction of game mechanics has led to the genre shifting from being considered a ‘hardcore’ type of game (normally played on a PC, such as Sim City) to now very much synonymous with casual (now normally played via browser in Facebook or on your mobile device, e.g. Farmville).

So what does it mean for me as a developer? Well, now I can pursue that idea of a grand, deep and complex game but with the knowledge that as long as I spend some effort in refining the interface and keeping the learning curve very shallow (but not necessarily dumbing down the game), it can appeal to both hardcore and casual gamers alike, as at the end of the day both parties want the same thing - entertainment. Everybody wins.

Wayne Imlach
SuperFunPlay





From: Robert Madsen 
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 3:43 AM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [casual_games] Defining 'Casual Game'

To me, a casual game is one that can be easily picked up, played for a short time, then put away.  I should be able to make some progress in a relatively short time.  In other words, I can get some fun in without selling my soul to the game.

Robert Madsen
Studio Director
http://SynapticSwitch.com
rmadsen at SynapticSwitch.com


From: Sheri Rubin <sheri at designdirectdeliver.com>
Reply-To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List <casual_games at igda.org>
Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 3:01 AM
To: <casual_games at igda.org>
Subject: [casual_games] Defining 'Casual Game'


Hi All,

It's time for another topic of the week, this one sure to raise some eyebrows: Defining 'Casual Game'. It comes from one of you - so sending stuff in works!

Has the definition of a ‘casual game’ changed over the last few years? Do you think it has changed for you? for your company? for your target audience? for the press? What difference has that change made?

As always, if you have any suggestions please feel free to send them to me at sheri at designdirectdeliver.com.

Stay awesome!
Sheri

-- 

Sheri Rubin
Founder and CEO

Design Direct Deliver
Website: http://www.designdirectdeliver.com
Email: sheri at designdirectdeliver.com

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